COVID-19 has presented a lot of uncertainties to the modern business world. The ever-growing number of companies from distinct industries have asked their employees to perform their daily tasks from the distance of their PC screens.

While a substantial part of the global workforce has already started to work remotely, there are more and more people looking for remote positions as they have lost the jobs they had before the pandemic.

Either you aim to find a full-time online job for a long-run perspective, or you want to get a temporary position to avoid any health concerns, you might go a long way before finally landing an interview.

Remote work has its own rules and preferences, and the same applies to a successful remote worker’s resume. To ease your way out on a path to career success, check out the following tips towards a job-winning resume.

Tip #1: Tailor your resume to each job (or, at least, each category f job)

In your resume, you’re basically selling your skills and expertise, so it’s vital to mold the information that reflects what your potential employer is looking for in a perfect job candidate. 
As a candidate, you should study the company’s web site and look for repeated words and phrases, and then mirror some of their language and values in your resume.

Tip #2: Design & Formatting

An appropriate professional sleek design can make the difference whether a recruiter will read your resume or cast it aside. 
Unless you’ve got your resume written by a professional, ensure you stick to the following recommendations kindly suggested by my colleague Laura Garbers who provides career consulting services at CraftResumes to ensure that your resume looks its best.

• Use the most suitable fonts for official documents; these are Arial, Times New Roman, and Verdana. The preferable font size is 12 pt. 
• Maintain your document has appropriate margins (for instance, for the font size 12, the most comfortable line length comes with page margins of 1.5–2.0).
• Divide sections to structure your resume and make it easy to read.
• Don’t go overboard with intricate design or decoration and avoid any clashing or visually distractive details. * Save and send your resume as a PDF - it looks more professional.
• Unless you’re in a field like academia or medicine, keep your doc length within 1-2 pages max.

Tip #3: Include relevant keywords to get through Applicant Tracking Systems

As a job-seeker, you may already know that most modern companies have their Applicant Tracking Systems (ATS) based on specific ranking algorithms to pull out the most relevant resume matches for the vacancy. This is because a lot of companies use online recruitment tools to sift through resumes, writes Susan P. Joyce in this article. And, perhaps, keywords are the most influential trigger to narrow the list of applications down.

Tip #4: Keep the focus on professional skills and achievements rather than on your duties

No one wants to know what you’ve been doing for your previous employer. Instead, companies want to know how you can add quality to their business.
Basically, your resume needs to be designed in the way to answer two main questions that every recruiter wants to know, these are:

1. Why have you chosen this job in this company?
2. Why should the company, in its turn, choose you among others?

Tip #5: Highlight skills important for remote workers

Consider including the following qualities on a resume (but distinguish traits vs skills):

• Technical know-how: There’s no need to be a computer whiz, but you do need to know the basics of working with a PC.
• Communication skills: Remote companies use software to bridge the communication gap. List any software tools that you are familiar with and create your competitive advantage.
• Decision-making skills: Demonstrate that you will manage the work-flow on your own, making well-thought professional decisions.

Tip #6: Things to leave off distant work resume

If you wanted to include any of the following subsections, simply don’t. None of them will add your resume a value in the up-to-date digital workforce.

• Objective. Instead, use a summary of qualifications.
• References. Most entry-level distant jobs will not ask for them, so do not waste your either hiring manager’s time. Don’t include references unless you have been asked to do it.

Tip #7: Maintain a professional online presence.

If the resume is submitted online, checking your LinkedIn profile is what do recruiters make right after they are satisfied with your candidature. Linkedin profile is a sort of a regular in-detail resume for the extended audience so make sure you keep it up to date.
Just like getting information about your job experience, your employer will also want to find out some details of your social media life. So expect your social media profiles to be checked as well. Ensure that your life remains private and doesn’t provide your page’s visitors with any unnecessary details. In a sea of applications, the perfect candidate is one that strikes a balance between having technical knowledge and an apt attitude to thrive in a remote working environment.

Bottom line

As if performing your job remotely wasn’t stressful enough, you have probably heard some whispers that crafting a successful distant-work resume is even harder. And it’s a true story.
While a part of applicants is declined by ATS, another part fails to meet companies’ requirements after their resume was read. To increase your chances of finding a job from any corner of the world in distinct industries, follow our tips as discussed above. 

Good luck with your job resume, and stay healthy!